Anyone who is in quest of the certainty of fulfilment (of...

Anyone who is in quest of the certainty of fulfilment (of his duties) and wants to tread the path which can assure him that he has performed all the Shari’i duties assigned by the Supreme Lawgiver, will have to perform one of these three things: He should himself perform ijtihad and comprehend his duties, according to the criteria, from the sources of the Shari'ah. He should follow the rulings of an all-round (jami` al-shara'it) mujtahid.

He should choose the path of ihtiyat (i.e., among other things, refrain from every act that is not known for certain to be permissible). In any case, it is essential to take one of the paths; for if one does not act or abstain from performing a certain act in accordance with one of these courses, he faces the possibility of Divine chastisement.

The rational faculty of every mukallaf individual considers it essential to avoid every possible harm and punishment; and to avoid such a danger is not possible except by following either the path of…